I'll Take Your Hand and Show You Around
by Vanille Strawberry
Summary: God. She loves her trips to Rotterdam. Brittana oneshot. Somewhat Brittany centric.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee. Like ... duh.**

A/N: Written just because. It's a little random and I'm trying out a new style too so just keep that in mind when you read.

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-I'll Take Your Hand and Show You Around-

Brittany see's her dad three times a year. She loves these trips to Rotterdam because the moment she see's him waiting for her at the arrival lobby, she runs into his arms like she used to do as a little girl. He twirls her around, her feet barely skimming the ground, and they leave the airport arm in arm. Sometimes he has little gifts to give her like bracelets, or sometimes even her favourite peppermint gum.

He leaves her half brother Pascal, half sister Caja and her step-mom Odette at home. He says it's because these reunions are only for the two of them. And Brittany loves it because it's this special thing that they can share and bond over. When they get home, she will have to put up with Caja's jealous glaring and all their relatives stopping by to see her and fawn over how tall she is. But this moment is hers and her dad's.

Brittany also loves her step-mom in Rotterdam. Odette takes her shopping during her stay a few times and together they take one night off for themselves. They might go see a movie or go out to a restaurant to talk about how school is going and whether Santana is treating her right. Brittany adores the brown-haired woman because she's funny and makes Brittany feel like she's coming home rather than visiting.

She was also, at the time, the only person apart from her mother back in America who knew about Santana.

Odette had taken her out to a little restaurant one night when Brittany had just turned fifteen so they could escape the house. She had asked all the regular questions. Only she got completely different answers. Brittany told her that school was really going well (that had been a surprise) and that she had joined this singing club that she really enjoyed.

"Iemand speciaal?" Odette had asked like she always did. Anyone special?

Brittany had nodded timidly and told her all about Santana. How safe she felt around her, how Santana protected her at school and always managed to keep her smiling even when the world looked dark and cruel. Odette has always known about Santana because she's always been Brittany's best friend and the girl talks about her almost obsessively- but the way Brittany had talked about her that night had given the woman a completely new perspective on the Latina she'd never met.

Odette had smiled at her and said, 'You sound like the perfect couple' in her mellow voice that always calmed Brittany's worries. No more had been said about it for the remainder of her stay.

Brittany had known she had to tell her dad soon because it wasn't fair on him (or to Santana) to be cut out of such a huge part of his daughters life. So, she talked about it with her mom and with Santana and even phoned Odette to know how she felt about it. The three (plus Santana's parents) had been supportive of Brittany's proposition and it was all settled for the summer.

Santana and Brittany were going to fly out to Rotterdam when school ended to spend some time with her family.

Brittany had called her dad to ask for permission and he had said yes. Then she had taken a huge shaky breath and said over the phone something that some parents hated to hear and disowned their children for.

"Papa …Ik ben homo. Santana is mijn vriendin. Ik hou van haar." Papa … I'm gay. Santana is my girlfriend. I love her.

She had almost cried when her dad had gone silent and all she'd heard was his astonished breath over the phone. And when she did break out into sobs he had quickly apologised and tried to calm her down so that they could talk.

"Brittany, het maakt niet uit. Ik hou van je en ik weet zeker dat ik hou van Santana." Brittany, it doesn't matter. I love you and I'm sure I'll love Santana

She'd cried a little bit more in relief and he had laughed his bellying laugh and said 'I love you' one more time before they hung up.

Now, Brittany is taking her seat in the airplane that will take them to her birthplace and Santana is stuffing their bags in the overhead compartment. She's never flown before and the anxiety of being airborne for the first time and of meeting Brittany's Dutch family as her _girlfriend _has her on edge and nervous. Santana even squeaks when the plane starts to move onto the runway, bites her lip and grabs Brittany's hand tightly. She chuckles awkwardly when she realises what she's done but they don't let go even once they're among the clouds and the worst has passed.

It's a 10-hour flight and Brittany, who is used to it, just sleeps and reads the magazine she brought with her. Santana on the other hand, makes frequent trips to the bathroom to pass the time, watches the on-flight movie and gets so restless she cannot sleep for more than an hour or two.

When they near the Netherlands, Santana gets this queasy look on her face and Brittany's kind of scared she's going to throw up. Instead, the Latina rubs at her eyes tiredly and mutters, "What if they don't like me?"

Brittany smiles because that has never been a worry to start with. She knows her family will fall in love with Santana once they get to know her. But seeing this side of her girlfriend, this uncertain and doe-eyed girl, is heart melting.

"They'll like you. Just remember to talk slowly to Pascal and Caja. They're still learning English."

Santana nods and Brittany rolls her eyes when she see's the Latina mouthing and learning the names of the people they will be living with for the month.

Santana holds her hand again when they land but once the plane is on the ground the tanned girl looks a lot like her old self. She takes their bags and it's almost like their back in school. Santana is just taking control and Brittany has to admit that she likes it. It does save her from having to carry her own bag around anyway.

They pick up their suitcases before making their way to the arrival lobby. As usual, Brittany scans the crowds for a sign of her father and Santana dutifully stands at her side, looking ridiculously similar to a pack mule with all of their stuff.

"Brittany!"

Brittany turns at the sound of her name and suddenly she can see her dad making his way through the throngs. She breaks away from her girlfriend and runs into his arms like she always does, but this time it feels like she's grown up and the twirling doesn't happen. He kisses the top of her head instead and holds her closely for perhaps a second longer than necessary. Then he's turning them both to face Santana who's lumbering forward with all their stuff.

Brittany hurries forward to lighten the load and her dad stands ramrod straight in front of the tanned girl.

"Santana Lopez," he says in that light English voice.

Santana straightens up and some colour drains from her face. "Mr Ottoson, it's nice to meet you."

He stares her down and she shrinks from his penetrating gaze. Brittany's not sure what is going on because her dad told her it didn't matter that she had a girlfriend. He takes a step forward and Santana tries not to flinch and hold her ground. She and Brittany are pleasantly surprised when Brittany's dad hugs the Latina to his chest and laughs.

"You should have seen your faces," he chortles. "I'm very happy to meet the famous Santana that has captured my little dancer's heart."

Brittany shares a look with her girlfriend and just ends up hugging her dad tightly. God she loves that man.

He takes their bags and an hour later, they're home with Santana introducing herself to a beaming Odette and the kids run around their legs wanting to know who she is and what she's doing here. Brittany hugs Pascal and Caja hello and introduces Santana as her girlfriend, knowing that Odette has prepared them like she said she would. Caja scowls suspiciously at Santana but other than that she's well received and they unpack in Brittany's room. They don't come down for an hour or two because Santana is still a bundle of nerves and Brittany demands they take a nap because she knows the tanned girl needs to sleep the stress off.

Brittany shuffles downstairs after her nap to have the cup of coffee that Odette has made but instead finds her dad waiting for her at the kitchen table with Caja at his side. They both look startlingly the same and Brittany grins when she see's the resemblance the three of them share. Caja has her eyes and her nose; their dad's features.

"Where's Santana?" her dad asks in English when he notices her standing at the doorway alone.

"Sleeping," Brittany replies in Dutch, going to the counter to pour herself some coffee. "She's not used to airplanes."

Her dad nods absentmindedly and scratches at his stubble. "I wanted to talk to her. I suppose it's better if it's when we're alone."

Brittany pales, especially when Caja gets this strange gleam in her eye and smirks at her. She takes a scalding sip of her coffee and sits across the way from her dad, eyes pleading.

"Don't scare her, Papa."

Her dad only laughs and pats her on the head like a little puppy. She tries to pout at him and pretend she doesn't like it.

Odette has dinner ready an hour later and while Caja and Pascal are sent to wash up, Brittany is sent up to her room to wake Santana. She opens the door carefully and peeks inside. Santana is still asleep on top of the duvet in her old New York sweatshirt and jeans. The dim light paired with the outside lights streaming in from the window give the Latina a warm glow.

Brittany sighs softly as she kneels by the bed and pushes tangled locks away from her girlfriend's serene face. At the contact, Santana smiles and murmurs her name in a way that makes Brittany's heart feel too big for her chest. She kisses the sleeping girl softly on the forehead.

Santana's eyes flutter open and foggy brown peers into watering blue.

"Britt?" she groans.

"Dinner's ready," Brittany mutters softly, reaching to kiss Santana again.

Dinner is a pleasant affair. Odette and Brittany's dad talk to Santana about all the regular things. School, Glee, Cheerio's, college and even a little about her family. Pascal and Caja even join in hesitantly with their broken English and ask Santana what she does for fun. The moment the Latina replies with video games, movies and music, Pascal has decided she's the love of his life. Brittany can't help but giggle when somehow Pascal manages to take hold of Santana's hand and refuses to let go until dessert.

After dinner, he tugs his half sister's girlfriend into the living room and they spend a full half hour playing Modern Warfare 2 while Caja watches. Brittany can see that it will take a little more than awesome gamer skills to win her sister over, but she's not worried.

Santana hands the controller over to Brittany's dad and father and son start playing. Brittany catches her gaze and they both excuse themselves to bed, their hands intertwining as they leave the room.

For a whole week, they travel around to various family members to introduce them to Santana and show them how tall Brittany got (again) Once more the Latina is well accepted and liked by her numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. Brittany's favourite cousin Philip nudges her with a sly grin and asks in the loudest English voice he can muster, so that Santana can hear from where she's sitting next to Brittany's grootmoeder, "Does she have an older sister?"

Brittany's grootmoeder (grandma) was not amused and no one is sure if Philip will ever be able to have kids. Grootmoeder Caroline's got some mean walking stick swinging abilities.

The tension completely leaves Santana's body after that and she starts really enjoying herself. Brittany seizes this opportunity and takes her all across Rotterdam. She shows her the Kunsthal museum and the Erasmus-bridge. They also take a Spido Harbour tour and Santana grins like a little kid as she snaps pictures of the water and gets a few decent shots of them being goofy. They even take Pascal and Caja to the Blijdorp Zoo one Saturday afternoon and Brittany adores the way Santana walks around with her half brother on her shoulders, pointing to the polar bears and elephants.

Brittany and Odette take their usual night off and go out to a restaurant for some bonding time. Brittany is a bit scared to leave Santana alone with her dad but she's been assured that everything will be fine. However, when they get home after a wonderful evening spent together, Brittany and Odette are surprised to find the house empty and devoid of life.

Brittany panics and she is a wheezing mess when Odette calls her dad to see where they have gone. She gets through to her husband and chuckles which makes Brittany calm down but she's still breathing erratically.

"Your dad took them to a movie," Odette says with a giggle. "He said Santana can't understand anything and keeps muttering to herself in Spanish."

Brittany grins warily. She knows Santana always talks to herself in her father's language when she gets confused and tries to remember things.

For two hours, Brittany paces the kitchen as her step-mom watches amusedly from the island counter, before the sound of her dad's car parking in the driveway has her shooting into the hall with a squeal. She ignores her siblings and dad as they walk in and just rockets into Santana's arms as if she hasn't seen the girl in months.

"No hug for me?" her dad asks with a mock scowl.

Brittany shakes her head and burrows further into her girlfriend's arms. "You took her away," she mutters harshly. "I thought you were gonna scare her."

Santana laughs and runs a hand down the length Brittany's neck reassuringly. "He didn't scare me, B. We had fun."

Brittany steps away to look at Santana's sincere face before sighing and turning to hug her father. He wraps his large arms around his daughter and smiles.

"Sorry, Papa."

"You owe me," he sings and Brittany's eyes narrow in suspicion. Her dad points to the Latina still standing a few feet away. "I get to spend some time with Santana alone and you get to take Pascal to his soccer match."

She stutters something that sounds suspiciously like "What? No! No! Santana- No! Help me!" but all Santana does is start to look pale and shake a lot. The tanned girl looks between Brittany and her dad helplessly.

"You owe me that much, little dancer," her dad says. "I promise to bring her back early."

Brittany crosses her arms over her chest defiantly. She gives her dad a look that could cut (she's pretty sure she learned it from Santana at some point without realising) but sighs and agrees. She thinks momentarily that it might be good for them to spend some time getting to know each other.

Santana excuses herself to bed and does not make an appearance for the rest of the night. Brittany's dad grins at the power he suddenly finds himself with and Odette just rolls her eyes.

Brittany takes Pascal to his soccer match a few days later and she lingers at home long enough to reassure Santana and threaten her dad with bodily harm if he says anything stupid. She would have stayed longer if Pascal hadn't tugged on her arm and demanded they hurry before he was late. Brittany barely has enough time to kiss Santana goodbye before she somehow finds herself chatting reluctantly with other mothers and older siblings at the soccer match.

She really wishes Pascal would hurry up and win so that they could leave.

At half time, he runs over beaming about his almost-goal and Brittany tries to muster the best congratulatory grin she can, but her mind is still on her dad and Santana. She's apprehensive about the outcome their little outing will have but for now she concentrates on her little brother.

Pascal's team loses by a single goal. He's a little depressed at the loss but brightens up when Brittany buys him an ice cream for his troubles. He completely forgets the defeat when they arrive home and he hears the sound of computerised gun firing coming from the living room.

Brittany and Pascal walk in to find Santana and their dad thrash talking each other as they play Modern Warfare 2. Santana is standing on the couch, bouncing slightly and pumping her fists in the air at every kill she gets. Brittany's dad is on his knees in front of the TV and rocks to an imaginary guitar when the game ends and they win. They high-five each other before Santana notices her girlfriend in the doorway gawking at them.

"Oh," she flushes. "Hi, Brittany. I was just …"

"I want to play!" Pascal cuts in, throwing his soccer gear in the corner and catapulting into the room. Santana hands him the controller immediately and goes to Brittany.

"I guess the bonding with my dad went well?" Brittany whispers lowly.

Santana bites her lip, glances at Mr. Ottoson playing with his son, and smiles for her girlfriend. "It was great, B. He really loves you."

Brittany leans forward to capture the shorter girl's lips. "I know."

They leave three days later and there is a lot of frenzied packing going on but then they're ready and saying goodbye. Pascal hugs his sister and Santana close (Brittany has to pry him off her girlfriend); Caja hugs them with a watery grin; and Odette kisses them each on the forehead before folding them both in the same embrace.

Brittany's dad drives them to the airport and before Brittany knows it, she's saying goodbye to the man. He kisses her, hugs her close and whispers how proud he is of her. Then he does the same thing to Santana, though he murmurs something entirely different that makes the Latina cry and reach for Brittany's hand.

"Thank you for this trip, Mr Ottoson. It's meant so much to me." Brittany looks at her pointedly. "To us," Santana catches herself.

"Anytime."

They wave goodbye one last time before they're walking away and Santana still hasn't let go of Brittany's hand. Even through customs, she only lets go long enough to be checked but then she grabs it again. Brittany's pretty sure Santana has been holding her hand for the 10-hour flight too, but she can't be certain because she fell asleep halfway through it.

When they get home, Santana's parents are there and so are Brittany's mom and sister. Katie sprints into her older sisters arms and then demands Santana to give her a piggyback ride. The Latina does so without preamble and Brittany's heart grows a little bigger at the sight.

The two families reunite and ask the girls how their trip went. It's only when they have to part ways that Brittany finds she doesn't want to- she has grown so used to having Santana all to herself that she doesn't want to share her. She thinks the Latina feels the same way by the way Santana still hasn't released her hand and glances towards her parents hesitantly.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" she asks quietly, letting Katie slip to the floor.

Brittany nods and they lean for a parting kiss quickly before Santana is trotting up to her mother and the Lopez family leave arm in arm. Katie pushes her forward after their mother.

It's two months into the school year that Brittany finds out what Santana and her dad had talked about on their bonding excursion. Really, she should have seen it coming (not matter how cliché) Her dad is an old traditionalist when it comes to dating and she and Santana had planned it for after high school anyway. It was bound to happen at some point. Her dad is all about the 'what are your intentions with my daughter' speeches. Nevertheless, Brittany still blubbers and flails excitedly in the middle of Glee the moment Santana gets down on her knees and asks her to marry her in a little meek voice full of desperation.

The Glee club applauses, a little put out by this new development they never saw coming. They knew the girls were gay for each other, but _seriously_? _Marriage_? Mr Schuester is just polite enough not to openly gawk.

I doesn't even matter that they won't actually be able to get married for another like, five our four years. It's the emotion and the promise put behind the proposal that has Brittany launching herself into Santana's arms without hesitation. The ring is gorgeous but simple (given to Santana by grootmoeder Caroline when Brittany hadn't been looking)

God. She loves her trips to Rotterdam.

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A/N: For people who don't believe in teen-engagements: My parents were engaged at fifteen. They're still together today and are happily in love :)


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